China warned on Tuesday that the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom were still on a “perilous and wrong path,” after Canberra announced it was buying US nuclear-powered submarines to modernize its fleet.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the agreement, dubbed AUKUS, an acronym for Australia, United Kingdom and United States, was the result of a “typical Cold War mentality” that “will only motivate a arms race, will undermine the nuclear non-proliferation regime and undermine regional stability and peace.”
“The latest joint statement issued by the US, UK and Australia shows that the three countries are taking a wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical interests, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community,” Wang told a conference. press.
US President Joe Biden flew to San Diego, California to meet Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The three leaders hailed the nuclear partnership that will give Australia access to nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered ships.
The move is seen as a response to China’s growing military might in the Asia Pacific region.
Biden stressed that the ships will not carry nuclear weapons of any kind. Albanese said he did not believe the deal could harm the relationship between Australia and China.
Wang repeated China’s accusations that the AUKUS posed a “serious nuclear proliferation risk” and a “violation of the object and purpose of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
“The three countries claim that they will abide by the highest standards of nuclear non-proliferation, which is pure deception,” Wang said, accusing the three of “coercing” the International Atomic Energy Agency to give its approval.
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said today that the AUKUS was needed to counter the largest conventional military buildup in the region since World War II. Australian officials have said the deal will cost up to $245 billion over the next three decades and create 20,000 jobs.
Marles said he made a major diplomatic effort months before the deal was announced, including more than 60 phone calls to regional and world leaders. Australia has offered to keep China informed, he said.
US Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink said the degree of transparency involved is one of the main features of the deal.
“AUKUS partners have made our intentions clear, including our commitment to regional peace and stability,” Kritenbrink noted.
The AUKUS is one of several US-led security agreements and partnerships that have drawn the ire of China, which often classifies the regional blocs it is excluded from as Cold War holdovers.
Along with Russia, China has also denounced the Quad, a military alliance that includes Australia, India, Japan and the United States, whose foreign ministers said earlier this month that they aim to be an alternative to China. The ministers said they viewed with concern “challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas,” referring to Beijing’s aggressive moves to assert its territorial claims.
China has also been rocked by a deal between Washington and the Philippines that gives US forces greater access to Philippine bases along what is called the “first island chain,” the key for China to project its power. in the region.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang warned Washington of possible “conflicts and clashes” if the United States does not change course.
Source: TSF
